A new affordable housing complex in the City of Orange Township is promising a new lease on life for some who were displaced by Superstorm Sandy.

State and city officials were on hand Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting celebrating phase three of the Walter G. Alexander affordable housing development. The complex has 42 townhouse-style apartments equipped with washers and dryers.

New Jersey residents displaced by Sandy were given priority for housing. The nearly $10.9 million project was funded by Sandy disaster recovery funds.

"Sandy was going to aggravate a vacancy rate that already existed throughout the state and so we've done our part to stem that tide," says Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren.

There were about 1,400 applicants who applied to get housing in the 42 units. Officials say the overwhelming demand demonstrates the need for affordable housing in Orange and throughout New Jersey.

"It's transformative! I've walked this community when it was housing that was in need of development; when it was a neighborhood that had to get fixed," Warren says. "Now you see the end results."

Tenants of the new housing complex must meet income eligibility requirements. Plans for phase four of the project are in the works.